Automatic draft-regulator and ventilator



(No Model.) I

M. B. CHURCH.

AUTOMATIC DRAFT REGULATOR AND VBNTILATOR. No. 259,494. Patented Jline13, 1882.

UNTTED STATES rates.

PATENT MELVIN B. CHURCH, OF GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 259,494, dated June 13,1882.

Application filed December 31, 1881. (No model.)

To all whom "at may concern Be it known that I, MELVIN B. CHURCH, ofGrand Rapids, in the county of Kent and State of Michigan, have inventeda new and useful 5 Improvementin Ventilators and Draft-Regulators 5 andIdo hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exactdescription of the same.

My invention relates to the ventilation of rooms and regulation of thedraft of stoves and furnaces by means of an automatic damper. It is alsoapplicable to the cold-air-supply pipe of furnaces and heaters of anysort in which a supply of cold air is conducted to the heatingchamberprevious to the distribution of it. to the rooms.

My invention consists, first, of an automatic damper, and, secondly, inan arrangement of this automatic damper in such relation to the stove orother heater thatit shall regulate automatically the draft.

In the accompanying drawings, Figural represents the outlines of anyordinary outstanding stove with a pipe containing myimproved damper insection. Fig. 2 shows an enlarged end of the pipe detached with thevalve in place. Fig. 3 shows details of construction.

In these drawings the pipe to is represented as connected to thesmoke-pipe of the stove just in rear of the body thereof. Itma-y be madeof ordinary sheet metal,like the common stovepipe. I cause it to extenddown to near the floor. In the lower end of this pipe I place myimproved automatic valve. This consists of two semicircular plates ofsheet metal, halfdisks, which I pivot at their straight edges within thelower end of the pipe. These valves are represented at b I). They may bepivoted on a single transverse rod or wire passing through theceuterofthepipe; butI prefer to pivot such valves each upon aseparate rodpassing through the pipe from side to side. A small flange may be turnedinward, or a small section cut from the edge of the pipe may be soturned, or a rivet inserted so that the outer edges of the valves may besupported in a horizontal position. It will be understood that theweight of the valves is relied upon to keep the same closed when notacted on by the draft.

The valves may be each fixed to its pivoted wire or rod, and the samemay extend through their hearings in the side of the pipe and be turnedat right angles, and provided with a weight adjustable on the horizontalpart ofthe rod or wire to give greater or less leverage, in order tocounterbalance in part the weight of the valves and make them moresensitive to the action of the draft. This detailis shown in Fig. 3, inwhich the bent and of the pivoted rod or wire is represented at c andthe adjustable weight at e. The rods or wire are bent at right angles,and the weights tend to open the valves 1). It will be readilyunderstood that when thereisahot firein thestove,andin consequence acorrespondingly strong draft, it will tend to create a vacuum in thepipe a and to raise the valves by reason of the pressure of the airthereunder from the outside. This will tend to open thevalvesmoreorless,accordingto thestrength of the draft and the amount ofthe pressure. Obviously the weights on the arms 0 should be adjusted asmay be found necessary for an ascertained degree of temperature in eachcase; but the arms may he graduated so that the weight may be set, afterexperiment, for any required degree of heat. The result of this actionof the valves is twofold. Under any increased degree of heat the valvesare raised and thefoul and cool air that is near the floor escapes, andis carried away by the draft. At the same time the access of air to thepipe behind the stove checks the draft from and to the fire anddiminishes the combustion and heat. Thus an automatic ventilator anddraft-regulator is supplied in a simple arrangement of automatic valves.The weights may be adjustable, so that ordinarily the valves will beslightly open for ventilation, which, under ordinary circumstances, willnot interfere with the draft. I have found this form effective for bothpurposes.

' I am aware that a balanced swinging-valve has been placed in thedraft-channel leading to the fire-place of a steam-generator, adapted tobe closed by the entrance of air and kept open byits own gravity and thebalance-weight;

from my own, and I therefore disclaim it.

I am aware that pipes for discharging the l foul air into the draft andextending down to but such device is clearly different in principle nearthe floor outside of the stove are notnew, such apipe being shown inPatent No. 85,931, of 1869, said pipe being provided with a valveadapted to be moved by hand. Such a pipe is also shown in Patent No.186,518, of 1877, with an automatic valve operating to open and closethe draft-valve to the stove as the ventilatorvalve closes and opens. Inthe latter patent the draft applied to the stove is dependent upon thenon-action of the ventilating-valve. The essential ditference between myinvention and the patent last named lies in this point, that I do notinterfere with the draft of the stove directly, but use automatic valvesconnected with the draft-pipe outside of the stove alone. In the patentreferred to the draft is not supplied to the stove unless theventilatorvalveis closed,whilein my apparatus the ventilator-valve mayact without regard to whether the draft-valve of the stove is open orclosed.

MELVIN B. OHURG EI.

Witnesses:

L. W. SEELY, F. L. MIDDLETON.

